In the past, roofing shingles have had to satisfy two main functions when applied to a roof deck. The first function is to provide a durable, weatherproof covering for the roof deck. Roof shingles, whatever their form, are intended to provide a means of sheltering the structure below the shingles from precipitation and the deleterious effects of sun and wind. Roof shingles installed on the roof deck must perform these protecting functions for a reasonable period of time. The second function is to present an aesthetically pleasing architectural feature which enhances the overall appeal of the structure to which the shingles have been applied. This aesthetic function has been satisfied by providing asphalt shingles with various butt edge contours and surface treatments which operate to simulate more traditional, and in most cases more expensive, forms of roof coverings, such as, thatch, wooden shakes, slates, and even tiles of various forms.
An aesthetically pleasing shingle is a tab and cutout laminated shingle having a headlap portion and a tab portion including tabs and cutouts. Both the tabs and the cutouts are relatively wide, and the width of the tabs and the cutouts can vary. The area of the tabs is roughly equal to the area of the cutouts so that the two shingles can be simultaneously manufactured by cutting a common tab portion of a continuously moving granule covered sheet. The tabs and cutouts that are complementary so that the cutouts and tabs of one side of the common tab portion match the tabs and cutouts, respectively, of the other side of the common tab portion. An example of this is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,487 to Lamb, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Improvements in the design of these wide tab, wide cutout shingles include contrasting coloration between the tabbed overlay and the portions of the underlay that show through the cutouts, and the use of shadow lines to enhance the perception of depth or thickness of the shingle.
Such tab and cutout laminated shingles typically require the use of starter shingles. Starter shingles are those shingles applied in a first course along the lower or eave edge of a roof deck before the commencement of the application of standard shingles in the usual manner. The starter shingles have the function of preventing leakage of water through the cutouts of the first course of standard shingles to the roof deck below. The cutout portions of standard shingles are oriented upwardly from the lower edge of the shingle. The cutouts of the shingles of all courses above the first course lie above uninterrupted portions of the next lower course of shingles, so that water leakage therethrough to the roof deck cannot occur, but the cutouts of the first course provide direct access for water to the deck. Therefore it is necessary to provide a course of starter shingles beneath the first course of standard shingles. The starter shingles must be uninterrupted and free of tabs or slots.
In addition, asphalt shingle roofs commonly include a minimum of two layers of shingle material at all locations on the roof. A starter shingle provides an additional layer of protection beneath the first course of standard shingles where there is no headlap from a lower course. For standard shingles with cutouts extending through all layers thereof, two layers of a starter shingle must be used to provide protection between the tabs in the course of standard shingles above. Commonly, the shingle installer must install two pieces of starter shingle, one piece at a time, and make sure the top piece is color matched to the field of the roof and that sealant is positioned to adhere the starter shingle to the roof so that nails are not visible.
Commonly, starter shingles can be provided by standard shingles, reversed front edge to rear edge from the usual position, so that the tab and cutout portions thereof project upwardly from the roof edge, and the headlap portion lies flush with the eave edge. Alternately, one or more layers of a starter material can be cut and applied to the roof deck prior to application of the first course of standard shingles. Another method of providing starter shingles involves cutting off the tabbed portion of a tabbed shingle, and applying the remaining portion to the roof deck prior to application of the first course of standard shingles. However, these methods require the shingle installer to expend undesirable time and effort to fabricate starter shingles.